


Full English

by IhaveAbadfeelingAboutThis



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Aberforth being Aberforth, Bathilda ships it, Cooking Lessons, Fluff, Fluff and Mischief, How is that not a tag yet?, M/M, One Shot, Summer of 1899, sharing food
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-07
Updated: 2019-11-07
Packaged: 2021-01-24 20:36:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21344350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IhaveAbadfeelingAboutThis/pseuds/IhaveAbadfeelingAboutThis
Summary: Gellert and Albus are eating off one another’s plates – and it’s beginning to annoy Aberforth.
Relationships: Albus Dumbledore/Gellert Grindelwald
Comments: 11
Kudos: 73





	Full English

**Author's Note:**

> This is just pure fluff. And one overused breakfast-based innuendo.

When, a week and a half after his mother’s death, Albus extravagantly praised her toast, Bathilda looked concerned.  
“Albus, did Kendra never teach you boys to cook?”  
Albus frowned and shook his head.  
“What must you have been eating?!”  
Bathilda’s expression had become one of abject pity, as if Albus had revealed he slept in a coal box.  
Albus was annoyed with himself. ‘Never show weakness,’ his mother had admonished him more than once. ‘Never accept help from anyone…’  
Albus had thought that he was just being polite. How was he supposed to know that toast was easy to make? 

“We’re fine, Madame Bagshot, really. We have goat’s milk, and fresh vegetables in the garden, and we can buy bread and cheese at the store.”  
“You have been eating only cold bread and cheese with raw vegetables from the garden? What are you going to do when autumn comes?”  
Just eat bread and cheese, obviously. But Albus knew that that was probably not what he was supposed to say.  
“Well, I suppose Aberforth will be at Hogwarts by then, and – “  
“No dear. It is imperative that you learn how to cook. Both you and Aberforth.”  
Albus supposed they really would benefit from the lessons, so from then on, Bathilda brought Albus and Aberforth into her kitchen, individually on alternate days, so that they could learn all they needed to know in order to feed themselves and their sister.

Albus had been in Bathilda’s kitchen when he first met Gellert. He had been taking a tray of scones out of the oven, and when he stood and turned to see Gellert standing there, he had promptly dropped the tray on the floor, scones and all. It was appalling. Albus was sure that he would never be able to look that stunning boy in the eyes after that. He was not surprised when Gellert laughed, but very surprised when he helped clean up, levitating the scones off the floor and into the bin. Albus looked from the bin to Gellert, speechless.  
“You will have to handle the baking tray – I haven’t the first idea what to do with it,” Gellert said, as if nothing at all extraordinary had happened. And Albus considered that, perhaps for him, it hadn't. He certainly wasn't expecting Gellert to make any particular effort to see him again.

Instead, Gellert could be found in the kitchen every morning that Albus had lessons, listening in, sampling the results, and teasing Albus. Soon Gellert was inviting him to stay after lunch, until Albus was there every afternoon, talking, arguing, studying, reading… Albus was astonished that someone so interesting had appeared in Godric’s Hollow, of all places - and that he seemed to find Albus interesting too. 

After more than a month of lessons, Bathilda thought that it was finally time for the Dumbledore boys to try cooking together. She had assigned them breakfast. Aberforth and Albus were in the kitchen together, alone mostly, though Bathilda would periodically appear with admonishments, such as “Keep your eyes on your own pan!” and “Less grumbling, more cooking!” and “That’s no way to talk to your brother, young man.” Meanwhile Gellert was presumably entertaining Ariana – Albus had introduced her to Gellert on a few occasions – he hoped that Gellert remembered to pay attention to her mood, to slow his movements and gentle his voice if she started to become agitated. He was so exuberant sometimes. Most times.  
Albus was hoping that it was a good sign that no one had come to fetch him or Aberforth to handle her yet. 

Albus opened the kitchen door and called, “Breakfast is ready!”  
Five plates were set out on the table, already filled with beans and tomatoes and mushrooms, sausages, eggs, and toast. Bathilda sat herself at the head of the table. Ariana sat with Aberforth and Gellert with Albus.  
Bathilda beamed at Albus and Aberforth. “It looks lovely, boys!”  
“Albus destroyed the black pudding,” Aberforth complained. “I didn’t know it was possible.”  
“You will notice that we don’t have rashers either,” Albus answered, glaring at Aberforth.  
“That is not the only thing missing – “ Aberforth began, before Bathilda interrupted.  
“Yes, well. A good cook never points out what they don’t have on the plate. Those who were not in the kitchen only care about what _is_ on the plate.”

While all of this was going on, Gellert had been quietly eating mushrooms off of Albus’ plate. When Albus finally noticed, he laughed and ventured to take a forkful of beans from Gellert’s plate.  
“Barbarian,” Gellert whispered to Albus.  
“You started it,” Albus replied, taking another forkful of beans and popping it into his mouth defiantly. “You don’t like beans, anyway.”  
“I like beans. I just don’t like these _English_ beans.”  
Gellert took another mushroom, and just before eating it, asked, “So I take it that Aberforth served the food, then?”  
Aberforth, who had already been watching and listening with ever narrowing eyes, asked in a low and threatening tone, “Why does that matter? Do you have a complaint, Grindelwald?”

Albus intervened, “We have no complaints, Aberforth. You did a marvellous job of making everyone’s servings equal.”  
Gellert added, “But Albus knows that I don’t care for baked beans, so I knew he wasn’t the one who plated the food. And he doesn’t eat tomatoes. Or mushrooms.”  
“Yes, he does!” Aberforth said, not quite shouting, but clearly growing more and more angry.  
“Not willingly, he doesn’t.”

Bathilda looked over at Ariana, who was staring at her plate and trembling almost imperceptibly. She shot a glare at Aberforth, and then gestured with her head at Ariana.  
“I’m sure that Gellert was just making an observation and didn’t mean to offend anyone,” Bathilda said, in a voice like one would use when soothing a toddler on the verge of a tantrum. Then she stared pointedly at Gellert.  
“Yes, I apologize. I meant no offense,” he said to Aberforth.  
Albus was grateful that Gellert had stopped there. He must have held back for Ariana’s sake. Under other circumstances, Albus could imagine him being tempted to say, ‘I apologize for knowing your brother better than you do,’ or something similar.

The apology was apparently good enough for Aberforth, because he nodded and returned to his food, pointedly ignoring Gellert as he scraped all of the beans off his plate onto Albus’. Albus did not get off so easily. Aberforth shook his head and rolled his eyes as he watched Albus carefully transfer his tomatoes and mushrooms one by one onto Gellert’s plate. 

Gellert and Albus ate quietly at first, but then they began stealing glances at one another, and soon they were sporting the contorted smiles of barely restrained laughter. The tension finally broke when Gellert speared a mushroom with his fork and threatened to return it to Albus’ plate, and Albus fended him off with his own fork, trying to create a moving barrier between his plate and the mushroom. Ariana laughed at the spectacle.  
“That’s enough!” said Aberforth. He threw down his napkin and stood. “The two of you are disgusting!” Then he stormed out of the kitchen.  
“What was that about?” Gellert asked. “We were just having a bit of fun.”  
Albus glanced briefly at Ariana, and being assured that she was fine turned back to Gellert.  
“Perhaps it offended him that we were playing with our food?”  
Bathilda shook her head. “Oh, boys. You have no idea, do you?”

Gellert and Albus looked at her, and then at one another, questioningly.  
“No idea of what?” Albus asked.  
“I don’t know, but I find her tone offensive,” Gellert answered.  
Albus bumped his shoulder against Gellert’s. “You find everything offensive.”  
“I find this egg offensive. It is barely cooked.”  
“That is the only way to cook an egg, Gellert Grindelwald!”  
“Englishmen. Will you eat this atrocity, then?”  
“No! I am already full as it is. Although,” said Albus, edging his fork towards Gellert’s plate, “I wouldn’t say no to another bite of sausage.”  
Gellert hovered over his plate, wrapping one arm around it protectively. “Don’t you touch my sausage!”

Ariana suddenly laughed so forcefully that her milk shot out of her nose.  
Albus looked alarmed, and Gellert startled, but Bathilda looked amused more than anything. She walked over to Ariana. “Why don’t we go get you cleaned up? I think these boys need a couple of minutes alone together.”  
Ariana stood and whispered loudly to Bathilda, “Are you sure we should leave Albus here unsupervised with Gellert’s sausage?”  
Bathilda laughed. “Perhaps not. But I’m not at all sure that he’d know what to do with it.”  
“I don’t know. He has one of his own.”  
Bathilda could barely stand upright at that point. She gripped the table until she stopped shaking. Then she straightened herself. “Perhaps you are right, dear. Nevertheless, let’s step out a minute.”  
Just before she left the kitchen, she turned and chastised them, “If you boys don’t figure this out soon, I _will_ intervene.”  
The kitchen door was left swinging behind her. 

“What do you suppose she thinks we haven’t figured out?” Albus asked Gellert.  
“How attracted we are to one another, I believe.”  
Albus squeezed Gellert’s thigh. “I already knew that.”  
“Yes, very clever. You do usually figure things out before everyone else.”  
Albus leaned over and kissed Gellert on the cheek. “Not before you.”  
“No, well, not everyone can be as brilliant as I am.” Albus gave Gellert a shove, and Gellert shoved him back. 

Gellert moved closer to give him a kiss, but Albus held him off. “I still have sausage in my mouth.”  
Gellert laughed and leaned his head on Albus’ shoulder.  
“I love you,” said Gellert.  
Albus was stunned. “That is something I did not know.”  
“It is good to know that I am capable of surprising the great Albus Dumbledore.”  
“You are always surprising me, Gellert,” Albus answered.  
He turned towards Gellert, who stopped him saying, “Not still occupied with _your sausage_?”  
“_Gellert_ –“ Albus protested in exasperation.

Gellert met his lips, and then smiled. “Every time I am in this kitchen, I think of you in that apron, startled and blushing, a tray of scones at your feet.” He kissed Albus again. “I wanted to kiss you right then.”  
“I was startled because I had never seen anyone so handsome as you in all my life.”  
Gellert took Albus’ hand. “I have never met anyone like you. I can’t imagine life without you.”  
Albus looked at Gellert and answered, “I love you, Gellert. More than anything.”

There was a squeak on the other side of the door. Gellert looked at the door, and then at Albus with a mischievous look in his eyes.  
“Albus, would you like to put my –“ Gellert paused suggestively “_sausage_ in your mouth?”  
Albus’ eyes twinkled, and he smiled at Gellert as he speared one of the pieces of sausage on Gellert’s plate with his fork. He met Gellert’s eyes, one eyebrow raised. “I can’t think of anything I’d like to do more than wrap my lips around - ”  
The door flung open, and Bathilda came stumbling in, looking wild.  
Albus turned to look at her innocently – his fork nearly to his lips.

Gellert smirked. “Something we can help you with Auntie? We were just finishing breakfast.”  
She looked between the two of them warily. “No! I just – forgot… something...” She picked up a spatula. “Ah! Here it is.”  
Gellert raised an eyebrow, but said nothing until she was nearly to the door. “It isn’t nice to eavesdrop, Auntie. There is no telling what you might overhear.”  
Albus turned to Gellert. “Then again, she might not have had the notion that we were oblivious if she had been eavesdropping more often.”  
“Hush, Albus. You are ruining my argument.”  
“Sorry, dear.”  
They both looked up at Bathilda, with identical smiles of feigned innocence, and she sped out of the kitchen.

Once they were alone, Albus returned his hand to Gellert's leg, slowly tracing patterns with his fingertips.  
“I thought that breakfast turned out well.”  
“Fishing for compliments are you?” Gellert asked, trying to look stern and failing.  
“Well, I already know how you feel about the eggs, so – it is probably a lost cause to look for a compliment from you.”  
“Mmm. Well the cook was the most delicious thing at the table, to be honest.”  
“I don’t like you talking about Aberforth that way,” Albus said with a sly smile.  
Gellert laughed. “I’ll try again, then. The toast was outstanding.”  
“I’m not sure if I should be offended by that remark or not.”  
“How about this? The entertainment was unparalleled.”

Albus sat himself on Gellert’s lap.  
“Let’s go back to the part where you were calling me delicious?”  
“Oh no. You said yourself that I was talking about Aberforth.”  
“You were not.”  
“No,” said Gellert, interrupting himself to kiss Albus tenderly. “No, I wasn’t.” And he kissed Albus again and again, with increasing fierceness, gripping the back of Albus' shirt tightly in his hands.

After several minutes, Albus stood. "I don't believe I can sit here amongst the dirty dishes snogging you all morning."  
"Oh no? Why not?" asked Gellert, grabbing Albus' hand as if to pull him back down.  
"The sooner we clean this kitchen, the sooner we can plot the overthrow of the wizarding world."  
"Albus. Don't make fun."  
"I'm not, truly. I just don't want to keep you from the things that are really important to you."  
"Right now, nothing is more important to me than snogging you amongst the dirty dishes."  
Albus gazed at Gellert in amazement. It hardly seemed possible that they had found one another. He reached down to tuck a lock of hair behind Gellert’s ear.  
“I love you.”  
“I love you too, Albus. Always.”


End file.
